His Tennis-Playing Musical Angel
by Arysthae
Summary: It's a fairly recent discovery to Shishido that his doubles partner is the most talented musician around, so he's not going to let Choutarou's feeble protests stop him from exploring the world that his partner is enamoured with. In the end, all it proves is that Choutarou is truly an angel, wings or not. /Silver Pair\ Rated K


**His tennis-playing, musical Angel**

**AN: There is way more humour than I wanted here, but the mere inclusion of Atobe and Oshitari made the entire thing way funnier than it should be. Hyotei is honestly the school of crack. And maybe Shitenhouji too. Anyway, enjoy!**

Shishido sighed as he stripped off his shirt. He was practically dripping with sweat, after the long gruelling evening practise. Whoever had the idea that the best time for tennis was in the middle of summer, was an idiot. At least Choutarou had been a tolerable, constantly smiling and improving their game winning skills. It had been fun to watch Gakuto's face as he and Choutarou beat the previous Doubles 1 pair in straight games for the fifth time.

Shishido wondered whether this would prompt Oshitari to get serious again and start thinking about actually trying to put effort into improving his game. He had then seen the Doubles 2 pair cribbing homework off each other whilst playing. Yeah, fat chance. They wouldn't ever get serious.

And why did he care anyway? Worrying about the team's performance was Atobe's job, not his. And, Atobe didn't look concerned in the slightest. In fact, he looked smug. Having lost Nationals, Shishido wasn't quite sure what Atobe had to look smug about, but he had been unbearably smug since they'd returned from the stadium, after Seigaku's victory.

Shishido rolled his eyes and put on his school shirt, despite the copious amounts of sweat. He ruined something close to eight shirts every day, another one really wouldn't matter. His mother had stopped buying him anything but the 450 yen packs of eight or nine t-shirts for his recreational clothing anyway and she refused to do his laundry anymore, leaving it up to him. And Atobe continued to provide the team with school uniform when they got ruined.

He might not have liked Atobe's personality, but he sure appreciated his generosity.

"Atobe-buchou!" came Choutarou's voice, distracting Shishido from his inner thoughts. That was odd, usually Choutarou preferred to avoid Atobe and tried not to talk to him.

"What is it, Ootori?" asked Atobe, as he styled his hair in the mirror with some hair gel.

"Uhh, I'll have to leave early most of next week and on Thursday and Friday, I won't be able to make it to practise. I'm really, really sorry!" said Choutarou, looking very apologetic as he bowed quickly, not looking at Atobe.

"Ahh, Sakaki-kantoku mentioned it. Don't worry, you're cleared. Just remember to not get rusty, ahn? Or else someone else might catch up to you." said Atobe, tossing his head a little to get the gel to dry.

"Oh, me too Atobe!" said Gakuto as he too went to the mirror. "Except, I'll only be gone on Thursday and Friday, and I'll be leaving early on Wednesday."

"Same story here, Atobe. Gone on Thursday and Friday, but I'll be leaving early on Monday." said Oshitari, holding up Gakuto's bag. "You forgot this, Gakuto."

"I was coming back for it, Yuushi!" complained Gakuto, as he combed his straight hair down.

Shishido blinked. What was going on? "Huh?" he asked and beside him, Jirou looked equally confused. But to be honest, confused was Jirou's natural state when he was awake. That, or excited. "What's going on?"

"You're so stupid, Ryou." said Gakuto, tossing his hair then cursed as his fringe became wonky. Shishido snickered, Gakuto never failed to amuse.

"It's the Hyotei Music Exposition. Just like Rikkai have their Summer Festival and Seigaku have their sports extravaganza, Hyotei usually puts on a music concert. It's usually exclusive to Hyotei parents and Hyotei students, but this year, it's open for anyone to come and see." explained Oshitari, as he unconsciously ruffled through his long black hair in the mirror.

"It means everyone's rushing around to get stuff done and make everything perfect for the outside world." said Hiyoshi, throwing his two cents in, as he hurriedly threw his jacket on. "I've got to deal with all of the lighting, so I'll have the same schedule as Choutarou, Atobe."

"Am I the only one who didn't know about it?" asked Shishido, "Apart from Jiroh." he added, seeing the blonde's complete apathy as he curled up on the bench to go to sleep.

"Probably." said Atobe, "There's no excuse for being ignorant about things, even if you don't take music. Kabaji and I don't take Music, and we're still aware of it. Naa, Kabaji?"

"Usu." said Kabaji. He looked more disgruntled than usual. "Lights as well. Will be take the …schedule? Schedule same as Hiyoshi."

"Ehh!" said Atobe, looking surprised, "You didn't tell me!"

"Did not ask." said Kabaji, his Japanese accent breaking a little. Shishido sighed. He knew that Gakuto and Jiroh didn't speak English, but listening to Kabaji's broken Japanese was really painful. Why Atobe forced Kabaji to speak Japanese, Shishido didn't know. Probably some weird acclimatisation thing that Atobe thought would work. Still, it had been two years. If it was going to work, it would have done so by now.

It was probably arrogance that prevented Atobe from admitting his mistake. Or something else. It wasn't like it was Shishido's business, anyway. However, his double's partner being missing for a whole week? That was his business.

"So, I'm curious, Choutarou," said Shishido, "If everyone else is only missing for one day other than the show days, why are you gone for the whole week?"

"That's because Ootori-kun can't say no to anyone." said Gakuto, derisively.

"He's a part of orchestra, jazz band, the chamber section and junior band already, then he decided to accompany the wind quartet, practically all of the choirs and is separately accompanying eight other solo singers or instruments as well." said Oshitari, smirking a little. "I think he'll be part of over 40 songs over the whole three hours."

"I bet Ootori-kun is in every single act there! Right?" said Gakuto and turned towards Ootori who was flushing red.

"Not in every act, Mukahi-senpai. There are a few without me, like the wind ensemble." he said, scratching the back of his head, "And I couldn't say no! With Fushiwara-sensei being ill and Kumagai-senpai being unable to play during the days of the concert, if I hadn't said yes, half of the acts wouldn't be able to perform. Besides, I don't mind doing it. It's fun playing the piano."

"Fun?" asked Gakuto, looking like he was about to protest. Shishido cut in there.

"Don't mind Gakuto; he's being a twat because his music teacher said that he had the voice of a dying cat and needed to be in a choir so that they could disguise that fact." he said, flatly, ignoring the indignant splutters from Gakuto and the sniggers from both Atobe and Oshitari. "That's some talent you've got there, Choutarou. I might just go there to see you play."

Choutarou seemed to go even redder, if that was possible. "T-thanks, Shishido-san. But really, you don't have to go to any trouble to come and see me play. I know that you don't really like classical music and the tickets are expensive. Besides, you have training most of the night, don't you? It would be an unnecessary hassle."

Shishido stopped his rambling with a firm look. "Choutarou. We go to Hyotei. Since when has money ever been an issue? I might be a scholarship student, but I'm not exactly poor either. It ought to be a change from rock music. Besides, I can afford to miss one night of training."

Choutarou looked sheepish. "But… I mean, I don't want to be a hassle…"

"The way you're acting, you'd think that you didn't want me to come." said Shishido amusedly, "Am I not cool enough to join the music group?"

"Yes!" crowed Gakuto while Choutarou hurriedly protested.

Shishido laughed a little and leant back. "By the way, if Choutarou is playing piano and Hiyoshi is in charge of lighting with Kabaji, what are the rest of you doing?"

"Gakuto's in the senior choir and the performing arts choir," said Oshitari, adjusting his glasses a little, "And I'm in the orchestra, string quartet and the chamber section with my violin."

"Oh." said Shishido. He hadn't even known that Oshitari played the violin. Oops?

"Honestly Shishido, this is why you need to actually deign to come to the coffee sessions we have most Fridays." said Atobe, as he finally finished with his hair.

"It's bad enough having to spend school and tennis practise with you lot, I don't want to spend more time with the rest of you. Choutarou excluded." said Shishido, unapologetically. "If it means that I'm slightly out of the loop, I could care less."

Atobe sniffed, as he always did whenever Shishido shunned the rest of the regulars and their oddities. Choutarou looked apologetic towards the other regulars. Oshitari looked unruffled as per usual, Gakuto looked indignant, Kabaji just gave him a stare, Hiyoshi was missing, and Jirou was sleeping as per usual.

Shishido shrugged and walked out of the door, stopping only to shut his locker on the way out. "Wait up, Shishido-san!"

He heard the call of Choutarou, so he slowed down to let the taller boy catch up to him. Choutarou also had his bag slung over his shoulder and he was fiddling with his cross. "That wasn't very nice." he said, after a moment of silence, "Mukahi-senpai looked quite furious."

"He's used to it." said Shishido, waving off the protest.

"It doesn't make it any nicer." said Choutarou, quickly. "In fact, it was rather rude, Shishido-san. I thought that Mukahi-senpai was your friend."

"He is." said Shishido, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That wasn't the action of a friend, Shishido-san. You should apologize to everyone tomorrow." said Choutarou, firmly.

Shishido pulled a face. "I meant it, though. I don't want to go to those stupid coffee meetings to watch Jirou sleep, Atobe preen and see Gakuto and Oshitari shamelessly flirt with waiting girls in some stupid contest. Not my cup of tea."

Choutarou snickered a little at the unintentional pun. "You should be careful you don't turn into Amane-kun from Rokkaku, Shishido-san."

"Telling puns all the time? How lame." said Shishido, grinning.

Choutarou's smiling face turned serious again. "Still, even if you don't want to go to the meetings, you shouldn't say it in such a rude manner, Shishido-san. And they're actually quite interesting, especially when Atobe hosts them at theme-parks or his private cinema."

Shishido sighed. "Fine, Choutarou, I'll apologize. But I'm not going. Hiyoshi and Taki don't either, and no one tells them off."

Choutarou's face lights up with happiness and Shishido smiles, despite his attempt to stay stern. His friend is really something. To his surprise, a little girl ran into them. "G-g-gomenasai, onii-chan." she stammered as she walked backwards, clutching a doll.

Choutarou smiled. "No problems. Are you alright?" he asked, kindly, kneeling down to her height. She nodded hesitantly.

"Where's your mother? Is she around?" he asked. The girl pointed behind her towards the woman who was frantically running towards them. Choutarou stood up again, holding the little girl's hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for the trouble!" said the woman as she approached them.

"No, it wasn't a trouble. As long as she's okay." said Choutarou, smiling again as he handed her hand back to her mother.

"Was that an angel?" asked the girl as her mother steered her away. Her mother laughed a little, while Choutarou turned a delicate shade of red, hearing her leaving remarks.

"Angels are those things in Christian lore right? Serve god, all in white, do only good things, wings?" asked Shishido, as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Choutarou nodded, his cheeks still lightly pink. "If it weren't for the wings thing, I'd say that you quite suit the name."

"Sh-Shishido-san!" he exclaimed, turning perfectly red. Shishido laughed and adjusted his hat.

"You know it's true, Choutarou. Now come on, I'll race you back to your house! Last one back is buying ice-cream!" he said. "Ready, set…Leg it!"

Shishido sprinted off, without giving Choutarou any warning. He could hear the indignant spluttering behind him as Shishido exploited his reputation as the speed-demon of Hyotei.

(X)

"You're so irritating, Shishido-san." said Choutarou, as they panted on his front garden, attempting to catch their breath.

"Hey, I'm always buying you ice-cream. I thought we'd switch it up a bit. Besides, we needed the exercise, Atobe forgot to make us run laps today, surprisingly." said Shishido, from where he was currently face-down on the cool, green grass.

"Yes, but did we need to sprint like mad dogs were after us? Everyone thought we were quite mad." said Choutarou, looking slightly irritated from where he was sitting with his head inbetween his knees.

"That's the fun part. Everyone in my neighbourhood thinks I'm insane. It's fine." said Shishido, waving it off.

Choutarou rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes, but I don't want to be seen as insane." he mumbled. "I quite like being normal. It's bad enough that everyone thinks that because I go to Hyotei, I'll be as arrogant as Atobe."

Shishido smiled a little. "Well, you aren't. And thank god for that. The tennis team might explode if we had another arrogant person there."

Choutarou laughed a little and Shishido grinned. "Say, Choutarou?"

"What is it, Shishido-san?" he asked.

"Will you play something for me? I've never once heard you mention music, but apparently you're amazing. I'm really, really curious." said Shishido.

Choutarou turned red again. "But you're coming to the concert right?"

"Sure I am, but you can't expect me to wait a whole week, can you? Not when you've made me all curious!" said Shishido, sitting up.

"But..." Choutarou said, looking hesitant.

"Just a little one! It doesn't have to be a long song, I just want to hear." said Shishido. Choutarou still looked nervous and hesitant. "Please?" he asked, turning on the puppy eyes that he'd practiced with his dog last week.

Choutarou sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Just one." he agreed, "You'll have to ignore my older sister though; she likes to tease every time I play, because she's in the Philharmonic Orchestra."

Shishido nodded as Choutarou got up and opened the door to his house. "I'm home, nee-san!"

"Food's coming in an hour so don't eat anything! And don't go inside the living room, it's still got wet paint on the walls." yelled a voice from upstairs.

"Got it, nee-san." said Choutarou, as he took off his shoes. "Please Shishido-san, put your shoes here, then we can go to the music room."

"Music room?" asked Shishido, a little surprised.

Choutarou flushed a little and scratched the back of his head. "Well, mother is an international opera singer, dad's a spare-time cellist when he isn't in court, grandma used to play the violin and nee-san is a flutist in the Philharmonic Orchestra. The only one who isn't musical in our family, is the cat."

Shishido laughed as they entered the room and gaped a little. There was a huge grand piano in the middle of the room and there seemed to be every musical instrument that Shishido knew about, in the room. It was a warm room, with lots of lights and a few chairs. "Woah." he said, looking around. "This looks awesome, Choutarou!"

Choutarou grinned. "Grandma will be glad, this room's her pride and joy. Do you have any preferences as to music?" he asked, as he reached for the huge bookcase filled with folders.

"Something happy, I guess?" said Shishido, as he took a seat.

Choutarou smiled. "Okay then. I'll play you one of my favourites. It's Chopin's Nocturne Opus 9, Number 2—But I guess that doesn't mean anything to you?" he said, as he reached for a thick book that read 'Chopin' on the front.

"Sorry. It's a miracle I know who Chopin is. And that's only because of Oshitari lecturing Gakuto about it last month." said Shishido, apologizing.

Choutarou laughed and opened the book. "Okay, here goes."

Shishido was unsure of how to describe the sound that came from the grand piano. It was slow and hesitant, yet it was soft and flowing. It wasn't like any of the rock that Shishido and his brother loved to listen to, but it was beautiful. Shishido noticed that Choutarou's eyes were shut as he ran his fingers up and down the black and white keys, a smile unlike any other smile that Shishido had ever seen on his face.

The music was filled with emotion as he coaxed soft yet powerful sounds out of the piano. Shishido had only listened to a few classical artists in his life, but he thought Choutarou was better than any of them. Not just because of the personal bias, but the fact that his entire soul seemed to be centred in the piece, in a way that was so amazing.

Choutarou didn't even seem to be aware of anyone being there other than himself in the room. Perhaps that was for the best. Shishido smiled and shut his eyes as well, letting himself be lost in the soft chords of the music. It was weird, but it felt like the whole piece was gaining confidence as it went, and it seemed to be increasing in tempo.

He opened his eyes again and looked at the grace that Choutarou had as he played. He'd always thought that Choutarou's movements on the tennis courts were graceful and oddly gentle at times, but he'd never seen such care akin to what Choutarou was giving to the piano now, as he played the high caressing notes that were so soft that Shishido could only just hear them. It made him feel rather proud, to see this side of Choutarou. And a little guilty for not knowing that it existed previously.

He finally finished, letting the last chord reverberate through the room. Shishido clapped loudly and cheered a little. Choutarou started a little, proving Shishido's theory of the boy forgetting that he had an audience. Then he coloured. "Was it okay?" he asked.

"It was amazing." said Shishido, grinning. "I couldn't even hope to play like that."

"Well, you haven't been trained for it, Shishido-san." said Choutarou. "I've been playing since I had fine motor control."

"So? I'm sure many other classical artists were, but…I dunno, I can't describe it. You put your soul into it. Like you put your soul into everything you do." The scud serve came to mind here. "It made the music come alive. I could almost see a nighttime scene and stars and a lake or something like that." said Shishido, shrugging. Saying stuff like that wasn't his style, but he'd be damned if he let his kouhai escape away from the praise that he deserved.

Choutarou flushed again. "Domo. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Not tonight?" asked Shishido, "No practice in the usual place?"

Choutarou looked nervous. "I have to practice with Makino-chan. She's been feeling really nervous since we haven't done much practice, so I said that we'd go over the piece with her."

Shishido nodded, not letting his disappointment show up on his face. Anyway, it wasn't like Shishido held monopoly over Choutarou's time. "Okay then, so next week's night practices are cancelled too?"

Choutarou shook his head frantically. "Oh no, Shishido-san! If we missed those, we'd never get better! I'll make it to those!"

"Not if it means that you give up on other stuff." said Shishido firmly, much against his will. He wanted to practise with Choutarou, but not at the cost of Choutarou's health. "We can go without practice for one week. I'd be a pretty crappy senpai if you passed out in the middle of your performance because I wanted my speed to get better."

Choutarou nodded reluctantly as they exited the room. "Okay Shishido-san. I'll see you tomorrow."

Shishido slipped his shoes back on and left the house. As he walked down the street, he heard a hard, clashing melody come from Choutarou's house, that sounded exactly like the opening chords to his favourite song. Shishido grinned and started whistling along as he walked back home.

(X)

"You're joking?" asked Shishido, as he purchased a student concert ticket from Oshitari.

"No, I'm afraid not." said Oshitari, pushing his glasses up his face. "You will have to wear formal attire. More than just the uniform. I know how difficult that must be for you, but alas, that is the price to pay for works of art." Shishido wasn't sure whether Oshitari was mocking him or not. He probably was. Oshitari was very good at disguising what he really meant. Probably why he and Atobe were so friendly.

"Ttch." said Shishido, running a hand through his hair, "Any ideas about where to buy something decent?"

"You could try this boutique on Nigurayama Street. It hosts some of the most comfortable tuxedos I've ever worn. But you'll have to be polite. I'm sure that's a foreign concept for you, so you might want to ask someone to help you." said Oshitari, smirking languidly. Definitely mocking Shishido with that statement.

"You know, if we didn't have a match week after next, I would punch you so hard." said Shishido, growling.

"That's the disagreeable attitude I was talking about." said Oshitari, looking unruffled by the threat. "To be accepted by the rest of society, you need to be polite and sociable. Threats aren't the best way to achieve that."

"Was _Shishido_ threatening you?" asked Gakuto as he flounced around the corner, looking annoyed. The use of the family name was accentuated. Gakuto still hadn't forgiven him for the remarks that he'd made the day before.

"No, I was just leaving, _Mukahi_." he said, tersely. "See ya."

Two could play at the same game. He stalked outside, trying to not snarl, as he let his temper out. He might have hated Oshitari for it, but Oshitari had a point about needing help. While Shishido could be polite when he wished, he didn't know the first thing about normal fashion, let alone formal clothing. And he wasn't going to ask his older brother for help, because he'd never live to see the end of it and would probably end up going to the conce-exposition in the worst style and cut and whatever fashion terms existed.

He blinked a little, as he noticed Jirou napping under the windowsill of their Latin classroom. He rolled his eyes. "Come on Jirou, wake up." he said, sighing, "The next period starts in five."

"Eh?" asked Jirou, as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Oh it's you, Ryou-kun." And with that he abruptly dropped and fell asleep again.

Shishido blinked. What? Had Jirou just…ignored him? He scowled before sending a well-aimed kick between Jirou's ribs. Jirou started awake and blinked at him sleepily. "You don't just say 'it's you!' and go back to sleep!" Shishido growled. "You're supposed to get up."

"No thanks." said Jirou, before dropping back to sleep.

Shishido blinked again. Had Jirou just ignored him…for the second time? "Jirou…" he growled.

"Whatever you're thinking about doing, you probably shouldn't, Shishido-san." said Choutarou, looking vaguely amused, as he juggled a violin case and several swathes of sheet music.

"But…he ignored me twice! Twice! Even after I kicked him!" said Shishido.

Choutarou looked somewhat taken aback before chuckling. "I think I'd probably ignore you if you kicked me too. Besides, that's hardly unusual, Shishido-san! Jirou ignores everybody, even Atobe! Only Kabaji can get him to wake up and that's because Kabaji drops him from 6 feet up."

Shishido scowled before sighing. "I suppose you're right. By the way, do you need a hand with any of that?"

"No, I should be fine, Shishido-san!" said Choutarou, smiling, warmly. "This is nothing compared to our tennis stuff."

Shishido nodded and pulled at the strap of his bag forcefully. "Say, Shishido-san. Is anything wrong? You look really down."

"It's nothing." he said, forcing a smile onto his face.

Choutarou gave him a disappointed look, like he had when Shishido had forgotten that Choutarou's birthday was on Valentine's Day. "Don't lie to me, senpai." he said. "You're a really, really bad liar and it's an insult to me."

Shishido rolled his eyes. "It's really nothing. I'm just being lame…. but I don't know the first thing about formal clothing and the conc-no, it's exposition, as Sakaki-kantoku keeps reminding me. But, it requires formal clothing and I haven't the first idea where to buy them or how."

Choutarou looked a little shocked, before he giggled. "I can help you with that, Shishido-san. I'll go with you after school today, if you can wait an extra ten minutes after tennis practice finishes. I'll need to pack up my violin and that takes a long time. Wait…. Was that why you've been in such a mood this lunchtime?"

Shishido coloured a little and Choutarou giggled again. "You're so strange, Shishido-san."

"You're one to talk, brat." he grumbled, smoothing the plaster over his eyebrow down.

The bell went and Shishido sighed. "I'll carry Jirou back. We have science next and Hirawa-sensei will worry if I don't drag him in."

"See?" said Choutarou, grinning, "You're normal again. See you after school, Shishido-san."

(X)

Shishido pulled at his tie, awkwardly, as he waited outside the music room door, slouching carelessly, hat pulled firmly over his eyes. Usually, he wore it the other way around, but today, he was bored and this way he could pretend to take a nap and be pretty much ignored by the other musicians trooping out of the music room.

"Ahh, Shishido. Looking for somebody?" asked a sleazy voice and Shishido internally groaned. He really didn't like Oshitari.

"Oshitari." he said, not even pretending to smile. "And yes. Is Choutarou in there?"

"Hmm. He's just talking to Makino-chan. He might be… _delayed_ a little." said Oshitari, smirking through his fake glasses. "I think she likes him. She might ask him out."

Shishido grunted impassively, ignoring the lurch in his stomach. "Good for him, he'll finally get a girlfriend. Not my problem. If you want to talk about the latest gossip, I really couldn't care less. Doesn't Gak-Mukahi-san talk about that with you?"

"You two are still arguing?" asked Oshitari, lifting a perfectly sculpted eyebrow up. "He's quite upset about it, you know."

"Whatever. If he wants to start talking again, he knows where I am." said Shishido, crossing his arms over his chest.

Oshitari looked slightly disconcerted by Shishido before that brief expression was wiped away by a fake smirk. "Well then, I'll be off. Good luck on finding something formal to wear, Shishido. And well. Other things."

"I don't need luck!" yelled Shishido, scowling at Oshitari's back. He was going to ignore that last statement.

"Oh yes you do!" called Oshitari's smug Kansai accented voice as he walked away. If Choutarou hadn't just walked out of the classroom right there, Shishido was pretty sure there would have been some violence involved, match in two weeks time or not.

"Shishido-san! You didn't forget!" said Choutarou, looking happy.

"Of course not, moron." said Shishido, elbowing him playfully. "It's me that needs formal clothing after all."

Choutarou grinned. "This time I have to ask whether you'll take my violin case. My sheet music is getting rather chaotic and I wanted to sort it out on the way, so I can get started on homework when I get back home."

Shishido shrugged and took the violin case. It wasn't a burden anyway, as he had nothing in his hands. "Do you play the violin as well as you play the piano?" Shishido asked, as they walked out of the school.

"Better." said Choutarou, scratching his head. "But I prefer piano. The violin will always be my grandma's instrument to me."

Shishido grinned. "So you're playing more of the piano then of the violin in the school expo?"

Choutarou flushed a little, though Shishido couldn't see why. "Yeah. Kinda. Piano's a more useful instrument for accompaniment. Besides, I wouldn't want to steal Oshitari-senpai's spotlight. He's the violin person."

"I say you should show him up. He could do with an ego reducer. If his ego gets any bigger, he'll have trouble walking through the doors. Some days, he's worse than Atobe." said Shishido, grinning.

Sure enough, the usual scandalized expression showed up on Choutarou's face as he turned even redder. "S-S-Shishido-san! That isn't nice!"

"It's the truth though." said Shishido, as he transferred the violin case to his other hand. "And someone needed to say it."

Choutarou pulled a face. "Sometimes, it's better to lie and keep them happy."

"Is it?" asked Shishido. "It's a fascinating dilemma, because it's putting happiness or truth first. And it begs the question of which one is more important."

"I don't know which one is more important in general, but I'll always choose happiness over truth." said Choutarou, flushing a little.

"Isn't that going against Christian principles?" asked Shishido, He knew that it was a little blunt, but he was fascinated.

"I guess…" said Choutarou, looking unhappy. "But…I don't like seeing people upset."

Shishido smiled. "I guess that's why you're the angel and not me." he said, winking as they reached the boutique that Oshitari had been talking about.

"Shishido-san!" he protested, turning a gorgeous shade of red. Shishido just laughed as he entered the boutique, holding the door open for Choutarou.

There was a middle-aged woman sitting at the desk, hair bunched up into a thick bun. "What can I do for you two boys?" she asked, smiling warmly, her eyes shut in that weird thing that Seigaku's Fuji and Rikkai's Yanagi did.

It was Shishido's turn to colour a little. "I, uh, I need a tuxedo for a concert. But, uh, I haven't the first idea what's good for a tuxedo and what's bad." he explained.

The woman beamed. "Don't worry, that's what I'm here to help you with!" she said, her eyes still not opening as she reached for a book. Choutarou laughed just a little on seeing Shishido's face as the book was revealed to be bigger than even War and Peace.

"Choutarou…." he squeaked. "Help."

"Haha, Shishido-san, it's just a book." he said, easily. "It's nothing to get intimidated about!"

"It's terrifying." said Shishido, darkly and both Choutarou and the woman were openly laughing now. Shishido coloured and kept his temper back. Polite. Calm. Polite. He was not going to prove Oshitari right. He was fully capable of being refined when he needed to be. Polite. Calm.

…It wasn't working. "Umm, how long will this take?" he asked, letting his eyes go back to the door, with a despairing look of longing.

"Half an hour, at the most, dearie. This book is for everything we sell, not just tuxes. Don't worry. Now, what colour were you thinking of?"

"Umm….black?" asked Shishido. That was what was traditional, right? Sure he'd seen Atobe wear purple ones…but that was Atobe. He did everything flamboyantly.

"I think dark blue would suit better." said Choutarou, smiling a little, "I know that your favourite colour is red, Shishido-san, but most of the performers will be wearing red, so that's probably not a good idea."

"Ahh, I have some nice dark-blue materials in the back. Silk, satin or velvet?" she asked, directing her question towards Choutarou. It wasn't like Shishido really minded, since he didn't know the various pros and cons of each fabric.

"Umm, something durable." he said, in the answer to Choutarou's questioning look, scratching his head slightly. "And easy to wash, preferably."

"Satin." said Choutarou, easily.

"2, 3, or 4 buttons? And three piece or two piece?" she asked, making little scribbles on a post-it note.

Shishido felt really confused. He had no idea what that meant. How did Choutarou know what that meant? "I think Shishido-san would prefer a two buttoned three-piece. It will look much more formal though, Are more three pieces or two pieces in the fashion nowadays?" asked Choutarou politely and the lady started happily chatting away about fabrics and styles and fashions. Gahhh.

Shishido let his interest drift a little, making sure to not look at anything in the room for fear of being caught staring and being asked whether he wanted to buy it. He'd been caught in that trap too often by his mother, and even though it wasn't very logical, he never looked at stuff in shopping malls any time he was around a woman. Or Atobe. Not that he went shopping with Atobe that often.

Only when Atobe practically kidnapped him from his running, along with a cackling Gakuto and bashful Taki. That had not been fun.

"Shishido-san?" asked Choutarou. Shishido started guiltily and turned back to Choutarou. He probably missed a question from his kouhai and he felt guilt about it.

"I'm sorry," he said, making sure to lace his words with sincerity, "But could you repeat that, Choutarou?"

Choutarou smirked slightly. "She needs to take your measurements. You have to go to the back room."

Shishido sighed a little. "Can you keep my jacket, Choutarou?" he asked, pulling off the Hyoutei blazer so he could follow the woman to the back room. Measurements, he could deal with. Despite the woman's appearance and propensity to chat, she was very efficient with measurements and Shishido was done four minutes twenty seconds.

"Then, the suit will be finished in three days' time. You'll just have to come pick it up and you can pay when it's done." said the woman, beaming. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Shishido smiled deceitfully and nodded calmly as Choutarou waved and chattered a little before they finally left the store. Shishido visibly let out a breath and Choutarou laughed a little. "Was it really that bad, Shishido-san?"

"Yes." he said, vehemently, "Yes, it was awful. I hate shopping so much. I can't stand it! And, not that I'm ungrateful, but how do you know all of that stuff?"

Choutarou smiled sheepishly. "My older sister liked to drag me out with her friends a lot, when she was babysitting me. You pick up a few things over the course of ten years. And I've visited a lot of formal clothing stores, because they expect a musician to be immaculately dressed, especially when the musician is good. Besides, when the shopkeepers are nice, the experience becomes all the better!"

Shishido shook his head. "You're unbelievable Choutarou. No wonder you're so popular with the ladies. I get uncomfortable just walking within a five metre radius of a clothes shop. I bet you'd be a great date to some lucky girl."

Choutarou flushed and laughed nervously. "Shishido-san, that's not funny."

"Sure it is." said Shishido, easily. "You're the one who's laughing."

Choutarou looked conflicted before shaking his head. "Honestly Shishido-san." he said, smiling ruefully, "You're really irritating, you know that?"

"Mmmhmm." said Shishido, grinning, now that the ordeal was done with. "We still on for tonight's training?"

Choutarou nodded, seriously. "Yeah, I'll be there, Shishido-san."

Shishido grinned. "See ya there then, kiddo. By the way, Oshitari thinks that Makino-chan might want to date you. You should ask her out."

Choutarou flushed. "I hardly see how that's your business, Shishido-san." he muttered, looking somewhat disgruntled. It was an unfamiliar expression on his face and it was an expression that made Shishido's stomach lurch with unhappiness.

"Ummm, Choutarou? I'm sorry if that…uh, offended you. I, uh, just wanted you to loosen up a little. You seem so tense with the concert coming up, maybe a girlfriend might help you ease off. After all, what kind of a senpai would I be if I didn't help you out when you're down?" Shishido said, scratching the back of his head.

Choutarou stared at Shishido for a few moments before laughing. "You're such a dork, Shishido-san." he said, easily.

"I know. I'm so lame nowadays, it makes me feel ill inside." said Shishido, mock-lamenting his so-called illness as he turned back to his house, waving off Choutarou, his stomach fluttering pleasantly at the bright smile that appeared on his kouhai's face. Hmmph, he was hungrier than usual today.

(X)

Shishido frowned, as he stared at his face in the mirror. He'd managed to get another cut there, through his rescue of two first-years from a speeding car. All of them had come out unscathed, except for a deep cut on his cheek, which he'd had to cover with a plaster, making him look like Kikumaru Eiji from Seigaku, as Gakuto had taken much pleasure in taunting as they'd eaten together at lunch.

It was Friday, the night of the Hyotei Music Exposition and Shishido had been wearing his suit for all of five minutes. He already felt self-conscious and wished for his hat to be back again. He didn't know how Atobe managed to wear the heavy and thick suit on a daily basis when he wasn't in school uniform.

He'd always cursed the western styled Hyotei uniform for being suffocating and heavy, but he'd have happily worn the uniform if it meant that he could get rid of the suit. He was wearing a waistcoat, for heaven's sake, a freaking waistcoat! Shishido scowled at himself in the mirror.

"Hey otouto, your friend's at the – sheesh!" His brother burst into the room, lacking manners, as per usual. "What are you wearing, Ryou?"

"It's called a suit." he said, acidly. "And who's at the door?" Shishido was a little surprised. He hadn't been expecting anyone, as Gakuto, Oshitari, Kabaji, Hiyoshi and Choutarou were already at the school for the concert and he couldn't think of—Wait no, he could.

"Huge black limo means—"

"Atobe." Both Shishido's chorused in unison. Shishido rolled his eyes at his older brother. "Did he send a bodyguard to the door?"

'"Yep." said his brother, popping the p. "Going on your date, Ryou?"

"It's the school concert, and seeing as half the regulars are performing, I'm going to offer moral support." he said, rolling his eyes, as he adjusted his cufflinks. "Like I'd go on a date with that idiot."

His older brother smirked as Ryou walked down the stairs. "I notice you didn't deny that you'd go on a date with a guy." he called.

"Lame, aniki!" he called as he stepped out of the door, "You'll have to try harder than that to try and get a reaction out of me."

He stepped into the limo and sighed at the sight of Atobe in a bright purple suit, with ruffles and lace sticking out from the blazer. "Did you have to wear that monstrosity?" he demanded.

"Such insolence! Especially since ore-sama is doing you the favour of giving you a ride, ahn?" said Atobe, looking irritated.

"Sorry Atobe, I am grateful for the ride," said Shishido, forcing a smile unto his face, "But seriously? That monstrosity looks like it came from an eighties magazine. Scratch that, it looks like it came from an eighties women's magazine and made even tighter! Which I didn't think was possible, since the eighties was the age of spandex."

Atobe looked insulted. 'This was made by ore-sama's personal designer."

"Who is in bad need of another job." said Shishido flatly, "I'm no fashion expert, but even I can tell that you look ridiculous."

"You shouldn't be so mean to Atobe, Ryou-kun." said a sleepy voice from next to Atobe, "But I have to agree with Ryou-kun, Atobe, it looks weird."

Shishido blinked a little as Jirou sat up from where he'd been sleeping. He wore a three piece grey suit with blue highlights that accentuated his curly blonde hair. Shishido thought that it was rather unfair that Jirou pulled off the formal look better than he and Atobe.

"Hhmph." said Atobe frowning darkly, "What would you suggest then, Jirou?"

"Get rid of the shirt." Shishido and Jirou said in unison. Jirou then sheepishly added, "The frills and the ruffles just look tacky. The suit isn't bad though."

Shishido paused for a second as he contemplated what they'd just said. "We sound like such girls…" he muttered darkly. "Who else would be discussing suit cuts and frills and how we look?"

Atobe rolled his eyes as he rummaged through the small compartment in the centre of the limousine. Shishido wasn't surprised to see that there were spare clothing sets there. "You're exaggerating, Shishido. Besides, it takes effort to be this popular."

Shishido rolled his eyes. Atobe would never change. It was best to not contradict him too much in one night.

"Blue or black?" asked Atobe, holding up two normal, silk shirts.

"Black." Jirou said firmly and Shishido nodded his agreement.

"Hmm, ore-sama agrees," said Atobe, as he pulled off his shirt and quickly got changed. "Matthew, take us there by the long route. Ore-sama wants to make sure that his hair is okay."

"Atobe, it's fine!" Shishido said, rolling his eyes, "If we go the long way, we'll be late."

"That eager to go see Ootori-kun perform, ahn?" asked Atobe, smirking a little as he buttoned up the black shirt. "Very well then, Matthew, the short way it is."

"We're going for moral support _for everybody,_ Atobe." stressed Shishido, hoping that his face hadn't gone red. "If we're late, that's really lame. Who knows, maybe Gakuto will faint if he doesn't see us in the audience." said Shishido, smirking.

Jirou snorted and smacked his hands over his mouth, but he kept giggling behind it. He wasn't excited like he usually was, but he definitely wasn't sleepy. It was strange, but Jirou was almost acting like a normal person. How strange. Even Atobe was chuckling a little as he put on his blazer. "More like he'll start shouting insults once he sees us there." Atobe said, smirking a little.

Shishido grinned. "If he does that, I bet Sakaki-sensei will make him run 50 laps. He's been really stressed about this whole thing; he didn't even say 'Dismissed' at the end of today's formtime."

Jirou laughed again and Atobe leant back languidly.

"We're here, Atobe-bocchama." said the voice from the driver's section and Atobe smirked.

"Thank you Matthew. The evening ends at 10pm. Be sure to get here on time."

With that, Atobe stepped out of the limousine and Jirou followed, rubbing his eyes petulantly. Shishido followed as well, shoving his hands into his pockets deeply, as he walked into Hyotei's auditorium. He could hear the quiet whispers of the Hyotei girls that were around, wearing evening dresses and …gloves? What the hell?

Shishido took his seat, which was thankfully, quite far away from Atobe and Jirou and handed his ticket to the usher walking by. He knew the procedure well; being a drama student himself, he'd attended just as many plays here as he'd acted in.

Shishido leant back, ignoring the people around him as the lights dimmed and the music started. The first act had Oshitari's violin solo, which was very skillful, Shishido had to admit, with quick, powerful movements and complex sounds, even to Shishido's untrained ear. Still, it rather lacked something that Choutarou's playing had contained.

As Oshitari bowed and smirked languidly as he walked off the stage, Shishido wondered whether it was actual enjoyment. Oshitari always smirked and there seemed to be no actual amusement in his eyes as he'd played. It seemed more like an obligation, not like the expression that he had when playing tennis.

The next act, surprisingly, was the performing choir, with Gakuto near the front cartwheeling across the stage and still belting out the song with the rest of the choir. Shishido was reluctantly impressed, his voice didn't falter at all, and it was fairly in-tune. Sure, he would never become the next teen idol or the next rock star, but Gakuto wasn't exactly as tone deaf as his music teacher had made out.

When the song ended, Shishido actually applauded and Gakuto noticed, much to his horror. There was an evil grin on his face and Shishido sighed. He'd swallow his pride again and apologise to Gakuto when he next got the chance. Maybe during the morning practise tomorrow.

Then, he grinned slightly as the orchestra took the stage. Choutarou was at the piano near the back of the stage, where he started playing. The music was rather stiff and unspirited for his liking, especially as it was loud as well, which made ignoring it difficult. Still Choutarou was smiling like an idiot, as he played his part. That made it marginally better.

Shishido grinned a little, as he leant back in his chair. The orchestra played four pieces in total and the only piece that had been enjoyable was the Lord of the Rings tribute at the end. Shishido knew that it was in part because he recognized the song, but it was partly because Choutarou looked like he was on the ninth heaven. Shishido didn't think he'd seen Choutarou smile for so long, convincingly.

The next group was the flute ensemble, which contained no people that he actually liked, so he tuned it out a little. Sure it was good; Sakaki-sensei wouldn't allow for anything less, but Shishido felt that it lacked something else. Maybe he was biased. Whatever.

The next few performances had Choutarou in them, but he seemed less enthusiastic, and he only had a minor role, either with his violin or on piano. Shishido tuned most of the actual music out, choosing to focus on Choutarou, instead. He looked a tad uncomfortable, but still, very happy to be on stage. It was…nice. Really nice to see him looking so peaceful and content.

Finally, the last performance of the three hour concert rolled around and to his surprise, Choutarou walked out to the middle of the stage, alone and bowed down to the audience. "Thank you all for coming to the Hyotei Music Exposition. I will now kindly perform to you a medley of my own composition. The first is called Midnight, the second is called Natsu and the third one is called Silver Pair. Thank you." With that Choutarou walked back to the piano, as if he hadn't said anything.

Wait….Silver Pair? Silver Pair? Wasn't that what everyone on the tennis circuit liked to call Choutarou and himself, after they'd beaten Seigaku's so-called Golden Pair? Had Choutarou written a song about the two of them? Shishido felt his face flush a dark red and he sunk in his chair a little. He could see a lot of Hyotei girls looking over to where he was sitting and he stoutly ignored them as he centred his gaze onto Choutarou.

The first song was poignant and slow and smooth and filled with emotion. Choutarou's eyes were shut and he swayed along with the music he was making. It was definitely pretty simple compared to Oshitari's solo piece, but it had way more emotion to it and it sounded more complex, richer. It suited the name, it sounded like Midnight. And Shishido would know, most of his practice took him to about 1 or 2 in the morning, especially with all of his running.

It finished and Shishido was about to clap, when the next song started almost immediately. Shishido blinked and pulled his hands down. Okay….

It was a completely different song. It had been called Natsu, right? Summer. It sounded warmer, faster and more upbeat. There were a lot more trills and lilting melodies that really painted the picture of a beach or ice-cream with friends. Maybe Summer wasn't so bad, if it was the picture that Choutarou was painting with his music. This song was definitely more complex than the first, but it lacked some of the emotion, so it could create the complex sounding up and down movements. But Choutarou was smiling and his enthusiasm, as per usual, was infectious.

The song ended and this time. Shishido didn't make the move to applaud. The third song was coming. Silver Pair. Okay, so he wasn't imagining it, practically every Hyotei student was looking his way and other people, who were curious about the stares, were also looking at him. He _really _wished that he had been able to bring his hat.

The moment it started, Shishido started a little. It was fast-paced, furious and most of all, filled with sheer emotion. Choutarou was practically hitting the piano in the vigourness. It was bright though, and seemed to switch emotions between anger and happiness and sadness. It summed up their friendship well. Shishido bit his lip slightly, to stop the tears at the edge of his eyes from falling. He was honoured. Really, he was. And to be honest, he wasn't even really sure if what they had was a friendship anymore.

Because up there, Choutarou looked more like an angel than ever and Shishido knew that all of the comments he'd been making about Choutarou looking like an angel, hadn't just been teasing. Just now, even thinking about Makino-chan wanting to date Choutarou was making his stomach twist a little. The flutters he got in his stomach when Choutarou smiled, well, he knew what they were now. Shishido was very much attracted to his best friend. He might even go as far as saying that he loved his best friend.

The song ended and Shishido got up and started clapping. He knew that standing ovations were allowed in music concerts and many other people were doing the same. Choutarou was flushed pink but there was a huge smile on his face as he beckoned all of the other performers onto the stage. Gakuto was smiling and Oshitari was smirking and even Hiyoshi and Kabaji had been shoved onto the stage by a few people. And obviously, Sakaki-sensei was taking a bow and accepting flowers from the students.

The typical Hyotei extravagance. Shishido smirked a little, as the lights flicked back on and everyone made to leave. Then he paused in horror, a group of girls he knew were in the school newspaper were making their way towards him, with slightly evil grins on their faces.

Without any thought about his manly pride, he leapt over the seats and started running towards where Jirou and Atobe were, in a frantic escape, taking very good advantage of the speed demon skills he was known for. He was not going to answer questions about that last medley of songs. Nuh-uh. Jirou noticed him and paused a little so that Shishido could try and hide behind the blonde.

"What's going on, ahn?" asked Atobe, to the girls, smirking a little.

"Did you see Shishido coming this way, Atobe-sama?" asked the girl with dyed blonde hair.

"No, I haven't." he said, lying smoothly. "But I'm sure that you can find him in school on Monday. He's probably already left."

The girls looked disappointed. Good. He owed Atobe something, that had been a nice save. "Okay, thank you, Atobe-sama. Bye, both of you!" said the one with reddish hair and they three girls left.

Shishido sighed in relief as they walked away. "I seriously owe you one, Atobe. Thanks." He got up and brushed off the dust from his suit.

"Hmm. Remember that the next time you call me an idiot, ahn?" said Atobe, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah." said Shishido. "Listen, I'm going to try and find Choutarou, so I'll walk home. I'll see you both at practice tomorrow morning. Bye Jirou. See ya Atobe."

"Good luck, Ryou!" said Jirou, grinning, "I think he'll say yes."

"I don't know what you're talking about." lied Shishido, as he leapt over some more chairs to make it towards the backstage door. Luckily, there was no one guarding it, and Shishido slipped in. He knew the backstage well and he navigated through the alphabetical dressing rooms, before he finally found the one where Choutarou would be.

He knocked nervously. The door swung open and one of the other tennis team members was there. "Shishido-senpai!" he said, cheerfully. "Anything you need?"

"Is Choutarou there?" he asked, smoothing out his hair a little. Sometimes, he missed its length. He had been so used to the balance of having long hair; it had taken a while to stop stumbling when he ran.

"Yeah, Ootori-senpai is just leaving now. I'll get him for you." With that, the kid turned into the room and called, "Ootori-senpai! When you've finished packing, Shishido-senpai wants to chat!"

Shishido pulled at his hair awkwardly as he waited for Choutarou to come out,. Finally, he came out, flushing a little, in his white suit, which was highlighted with red. "Shishido-san!" he said, smiling, "What did you think?"

"Amazing." he answered, grinning, sincerely, "Honestly amazing. Do you want me to take your violin?"

Choutarou nodded and handed Shishido his violin case. "Thanks Shishido-san. What was your favourite song?"

"Had to be Midnight." Shishido said, grinning, "I think you've got more than a few scouts on your tail, already because of that medley. I heard a bunch of them as I was running away from the newspaper girls."

Choutarou flushed. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course." said Shishido, rolling his eyes, "You were one of the best performers there. They'd be idiots to not scout you."

Choutarou grinned. "Thanks Shishido-san. But there were lots of people better than me. I bet Oshitari-san will be their main focus."

Shishido sighed. "As if. Oshitari hasn't got half the passion that you have. He might be able to play tennis with passion, but that hasn't transferred over to music yet."

Choutarou frowned a little. "That's a little mean, Shishido-san." he said, as they finally left the Hyotei campus and started walking home.

"It's the truth." said Shishido, calmly. "You were much better. Anyway, now we're away from the cameras, I wanted to ask…uh." Shishido sighed, his words were failing him now.

"Ask what?" asked Choutarou, looking a little wary.

"You know…your last song. That was after us, wasn't it?" asked Shishido, scratching the back of his head.

Choutarou looked away and flushed. "Yeah. Yeah, it was."

"Umm. Well, thank you." said Shishido, blushing a little. He'd kind of known, but it had been nice to get some confirmation.

"I didn't play it for you. I didn't even mean to play it today. Sakaki-sensei forced me to." said Choutarou, his voice quiet.

Shishido winced. That hurt. _I didn't play it for you_? Was that really how Choutarou felt? Still, if he didn't love Shishido back, it was fine. He could cope. As long as Choutarou was happy, he…he would be happy. He forced himself to pretend that the involuntary wince was because of the forced playing. "Why'd he do that?"

"Said it was the best he'd ever heard me play. He said that if I didn't showcase it, he'd seriously reconsider making me vice-captain next year." said Choutarou, looking very irritated.

"Jesus Choutarou, you should have said something!" said Shishido, starting. Sure, he was annoyed that Choutarou didn't seem to like him back at all, but that was blackmail on Sakaki's part. "That's sheer blackmail! That's illegal!"

Choutarou frowned. "He's the kantoku. His word goes. Anyway, who would believe me over him?"

Shishido made to protest when Choutarou shushed him. "Leave it. It's done now."

Shishido dropped the topic and they walked in silence for a while. "When…when were you going to show me?" asked Shishido, feeling really curious.

Choutarou flushed. "I—I wanted to give it to you for your birthday." he murmured.

Shishido grinned. "Well then, Choutarou…you'll just have to make another one, won't you?" he said, grinning a little.

Choutarou turned around. "_Nani_?" he asked, looking shocked.

"I said, you'll have to make another one, because I loved this one and another song….well, I think it would be cool. You know that Atobe got the Hyotei cheer recorded for when he plays matches away from home. We could play your song when we play away from home." teased Shishido, as he grinned.

Choutarou flushed. "S-S-Shishido-san!" he said, looking really embarrassed.

"What?" he asked, making sure to plaster his best innocent expression on his face, before grinning and dropping the facade. "Joking. I'm not nearly that ego-centric. Seriously though, it was amazing."

"Thanks." said Choutarou, tucking a strand of hair behind his hair. Shishido bit his lip and put the violin case down. What the hell? He was reacting to Shishido's friendly teasing like it was flirting. What was going on? "Shishido-san?" asked Choutarou, looking concerned. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Choutarou…" he said, softly. "I really, _really_ liked the song. And…you looked amazing up on the stage." he said, quietly. He had to see…

"Shishido-san?" asked Choutarou, looking really hesitant.

"Look, I really have no way to say this, because—I dunno. I'm really lame. So, umm just going to show you." stammered Shishido a little. There was every risk that he was going to completely screw up their friendship, but Shishido had to know, because he'd been given nothing but confusing signals from Choutarou.

And before Choutarou could realize what he was trying to do, Shishido stood on his tiptoes, reached his arms around Choutarou's neck and pressed a soft kiss to his kouhai's lips.

Choutarou's eyes widened and he took a couple of steps back. Shishido let go of him immediately and sighed. He should have known. He really, really should have known. His eyes fell to the cross that was still on Choutarou's neck. He really, _really_, really should have known, But, he'd allowed himself to hope and he'd officially screwed up their doubles com—

Shishido felt himself start a little as Choutarou's hand went to the side of his face and he leant down to kiss him back. "Shishido-san…" he said, letting go, his face the colour of a tomato, "I didn't know that you liked me that way."

"Neither did I." said Shishido, flushing a little. "Until today, that is."

"I hadn't dared to hope…especially since you kept telling me to date Makino-chan…." stammered Choutarou, looking completely flabbergastered.

"I was stupid and didn't realize I liked you." said Shishido, pulling a face. "I blame it all on Oshitari."

"Shishido-san!" said Choutarou, looking amused and surprised, "What did Oshitari do to you?"

"He suggested that you were happy to have her affections. Actually…. now that I think about it, he said something really weird afterwards…" Shsihido said, before colouring. Oh. Oshitari had been trying to make him jealous. Oh. He was an idiot. Good luck, indeed.

"Never mind, I'm just an idiot." said Shishido, wryly.

"Don't be stupid, Shishido-san." said Choutarou, as he put a hand on Shishido's cheek, gently. "You aren't stupid. A little slow, but not stupid."

Shishido put his own hand over Choutarou's to keep it there, and kissed Choutarou again, this time, taking more time with it. He'd heard lewd stories from his brother about how kissing went and he hesitantly pushed his tongue into Choutarou's mouth. Choutarou eagerly responded and both of them took their time exploring each other's mouths. It was soft and slow and sweet and really, it was nothing like his aniki's exploits, but Shishido didn't care, because he knew. He knew beyond a doubt, that this was love.

They finally broke apart because of need for air and Shishido just looked at Choutarou as he recovered his breath. His white-blonde hair shone in the sodium-yellow colour of the street-lights and his face was illuminated. In his white suit, with those, wide, wide eyes, he really did look just like an angel.

"You honestly look just like an angel." said Shishido, looping his hand in with Choutarou's. "I can see exactly why that little girl got confused."

"No wings, remember?" said Choutarou, rolling his eyes, as Shishido picked up his violin case and they started to walk back to Choutarou's house.

"That's because you fell from heaven so I could be in love with you." sad Shishido, smugly, "Besides, I have proof. Angels are supposed to play instruments right? You have perfect pitch and you're the best musician I've ever heard."

"Only because you're my inspiration, Shishido-san." said Choutarou, looking discomfited. "Midnight was based on our training sessions, Natsu was on our trips after practice and Silver Pair was about tennis."

Shishido blinked. "What?" he asked, looking shocked. "R-really?"

Choutarou nodded, looking really nervous. Shishido leant up and kissed him again and this time, he slipped his hands into Choutarou's hair and massaged his scalp. "You…" said Shishido, staring into his partner's eyes. "You have got to be the sweetest person ever."

"You're not so bad yourself, Shishido-san." said Choutarou, looking slightly dazed.

Shishido laughed outright. "Let's go home, Choutarou." And they did.

**OWARI.**

**AN: I wasn't actually a major fan of Silver Pair, simply because I didn't think that being a doubles pair necessarily meant that they were romantically affiliated. And not everybody in the TeniPuri world is gay (even if the anime blatantly tries to show that).**

**But I heard a comparison of Choutarou to an angel when I was reading through some LiveJournal stuff and I thought that it sounded like some sort of romantic thing that someone would say in a fiction. So, I trawled through the Silver Pair archives to try and find something like that, and failed. So here's my own story, inspired by the word angel and music. **

**It was also made because of the sheer amount of fiction revolving around Choutarou's birthday being on Valentine's day. I really think that Shishido is an idiot, so he wouldn't care about that in the slightest, because being told to be romantic won't work for him. But he's a hardworking idiot, so I'll give him that, at least. **

**Oh yeah, and my theory as to why Kabaji never speaks is that he doesn't know Japanese that well. He and Atobe are both supposed to be from England, right? And Atobe was probably bilingual for a while, but Kabaji never had that advantage, and therefore, his Japanese is pretty broken. It's a kind of flawed, since you'd think that his absorption technique would work in other areas than tennis, but it's one theory, anyway. **

**Review or even give some other sort of acknowledgement that you read and liked this, please~! It honestly make me smile every time I see a new message in my inbox relating to my stories. **


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